Natalie Krebs/Lucius Pham
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Iowa Public Radio
Iowa’s 1st Congressional District is seeing Democrat Christina Bohannan challenge Republican incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks for the third time in a row. But an unpopular foreign war, independent candidate Michael Bridgford and new campaign strategies are making this year’s race a little bit different.
The Work in Progress
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Inequality Media
Eliza Billingham
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Iowa Public Radio
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Both candidates say they want Iowa students to succeed. But Republican Zach Lahn and Democrat Rob Sand disagree over who should qualify for education savings accounts and how the money should be monitored. -
Audiences across the political spectrum used to consume the same basic set of facts from the major news networks. Today, political slants in coverage and individualized algorithms have Americans debating completely different realities. -
More than 10,000 Iowans are living with Parkinson's disease — and one state senator believes a common weed killer may be part of the story. On this episode, we talk with state Sen. Art Staed, D-Cedar Rapids, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2024. He's been pushing to ban paraquat, a widely used herbicide tied to higher Parkinson's risk. Luke Nozicka of The Midwest Newsroom joins us to discuss his reporting on the debate over banning paraquat, and we hear from Iowan Nate Peterson who believes his own diagnosis traces back to paraquat exposure. Peterson was diagnosed with Parkinson's at age 34. Later, a conversation with 1st Congressional District candidate Democrat Christina Bohannan. Bohannan is running against incumbent Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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On this Politics Day episode, we hear from political scientists Sara Mitchell of the University of Iowa and Dave Peterson of Iowa State. We discuss Vice President JD Vance's visit to Council Bluffs, Trump's address to the UN, the White House banning three news organizations from official events and more.
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Iowa will select its new governor in a few weeks. Where do candidates stand on some of the top issues on voters' minds? On this episode, host Ben Kieffer interviews both major-party nominees for governor — Republican Zach Lahn and Democrat Rob Sand. We get their views on the state’s poor water quality, Iowa's climbing cancer rates and education funding among other issues. Lahn and Sand are competing for the seat currently held by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
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Dementia can feel like something every family faces alone — but it doesn't have to be that way. On this episode, we talk with Shelby Roberts of the Alzheimer's Association, Dr. Yogesh Shah of Broadlawns Memory Clinic and Iowa's state medical director, Dr. Robert Kruse, about brain health and innovative approaches to early identification, prevention and care for Iowans living with dementia. Then, a conversation with 3rd Congressional District candidate, State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-Des Moines.
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He spent decades building the modern Republican Party, but has since left the party behind. On this episode, a conversation Bill Kristol at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City. Kristol has been a fixture of conservative politics for 40 years — chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, founder of 'The Weekly Standard.' He's now editor-at-large of The Bulwark,'= a media outlet and podcast network he helped build as a landing spot for Republicans who've separated from President Donald Trump. We discuss his work defending America’s liberal democratic principles, the future of American conservatism and more.
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President Donald Trump said AI's biggest safety warnings are a conspiracy — even as Iowa towns pass moratoriums on the data centers powering it. On this Politics Day episode, we explore the president's clash with his own tech allies over AI safety. Political scientists Jonathan Hassid of Iowa State University and Wayne Moyer of Grinnell College join us with their analysis. We also discuss the latest election polls and Iowa's Senate and Governor races, SCOTUS blocking Trump's mail-in voting rule and more.
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A quarter of a century later, we're still living with the world September 11th made. On the 25th anniversary of the attacks, we talk with Tom Vilsack, who was Iowa’s governor during the deadliest terrorist attacks in U.S. history. He remembers where he was and how he chose to respond. Then, we talk with Mark Listes of Pendulum Intelligence on the AI-fueled disinformation war reshaping elections and public trust, and what it means for us ahead of the midterms. We also meet Amber Essau, an International Writing Program resident from New Zealand. Then, Studio One's Cece Mitchell grooves us into the weekend.
